Identification of Leptocephalus acuticeps Regan as the Larva of the Eel Genus Avocettina

Abstract

Regan (1916: 140, pI. 7, fig. 5) based the description of a distinctive new eel larva, Leptocephalus acuticeps, on a single 47-mm specimen from the South Atlantic. He did not attempt to allocate this larva within the eel classification, but D'Ancona (1928: 109) and Bertin (1936:7) assigned it to the Congridae. Although no additional specimens of 1. acuticeps appear to have been reported since the brief original description, Bertin re-examined the original larva and gave important supplementary information on it, and an additional illustration.